Electrical apparatus



Dec. 9, 1941. c L, ATTHEWS 2,265,738

ELECTRICAL APPARATUS Filed Sept. 2, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet l Dec. 9. 1941.c MATTHEWS 2,265,738

ELECTRICAL APPARATUS Filed Sept. 2, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Dec. 9, 1941.v c. L. MATTHEWS 2,265,738

ELECTRICAL APPARATUS Filed Sept. 2, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIGS.

Patented Dec. 9, 1941 ELECTRICAL APPARATUS Claude L. Matthews, St.Louis, Mo., assignor to W. N. Matthews Corporation, St. Louis, Mo., acorporation of Missouri Application September 2, 1939, Serial No.293,167

3 Claims. (Cl. 200-114) This invention relates to electrical apparatus,and with regard to certain more specific features to electrical lineprotection apparatus.

Among the several objects'o'f the invention may be noted the provisionof an improvement in means for supporting the fuse holder shown inUnited States Patent 2,103,056 issued to Theodore Birkenmaier onDecember 21, 1937, wherein direct fastening to a line is eliminatedwhile the advantages of a freely suspended fuse holder are retained andthe functions thereof improved upon; and the provision of apparatus ofthe class de scribed which is simple in operation and economical incost. Other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed outhereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the elements and combinations ofelements, features of construction, and arrangements of parts which willbe exemplified in the structures hereinafter described, and the scope ofthe application of which will be indicated in the following claims.

In the accompanying drawings, in which are illustrated several ofvarious possible embodiments of the invention:

Fig. 1 is a plan View of one form of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a right-side elevation of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary section taken on line 44 of Fig. 2;

Figs. 5, 6 and '7 are related views similar to Figs. 1, 2 and 3,respectively, showing a modification;

Figs. 8 and 9 are related views similar to Figs. 1 and 2 respectively,showing a third form; and,

Fig. 10 isa detail section taken on line |-II3 of Fig. 9.

Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout theseveral views of the drawings.

Referring now more particularly to Fig. 1, there is shown at numeral I aline wire to which it is desired to electrically connect a fuse holder.This wire I is carried on an insulator 3 on pole 5, being held by thewires I. A saddle 9 and a U-bolt II together grip the insulator 3 tosupport an extending cantilever arm or support I3, the outer end ofwhich has a depending extension or carrier I5, carrying at its bottom asocket II. From the socket extend flaring guide fingers I9.

Pivoted in a clevis 2 at the upper end of the extensions I is a latch 2|which is normally biased by a spring 23 (Fig. 4) to a latching positionabove said socket IT. The amount of bias given to the latch 2| by thespring 23 is limited by a T-shaped extension 25 which. extends through aslot 21 in the member l5. Thus the latch 2! is normally pressed to theright. When the latch M is in its furthermost position toward the right,it obstructs the outlet from the socket I1, but when pressed to the left(as shown in Fig. 4) against bias of spring 23, it does not obstruct theoutlet.

The fuse carrier comprises an upper contact 29 having a screw cap 3| forfastening the upper end of a fuse link 33. The contact 29 has formedtherewith an eye 35 with which cooperates a lug 31 of the head of alinemans stick S. The purpose of this cooperation is to mount the fusesupport on the end of the linemans stick for application and removal toand from the holder.

From the lower end of the contact 29 extends an insulating tube 38, thelatter passing through and being held to a lower contact 39. The fuselink 33 extends out from the open lower end of the tube 33 and is heldby a clamp member 42, part of which consists of an arm Ifli having afinger I63 over the link 33 so that pull from the link locks the clamp.At 44 is shown a flexible conductor which connects the clamp 52 with thelower contact 39. Around the conductor 44 and reacting between the clamp42 and a lug 43 is a coil spring M. A wire holding openable connectoralso forms part of the lower contact 39.

Thus, between the attachment at 43 of the spring 45 and the releaseclamp 42 is a flexible shunt 14. This shunt protects the spring 4| fromcurrent, so that the spring 41 will not become annealed due to heatingeffect of current through it. In this respect, the spring II differsfrom the corresponding flat leaf-spring 2| referred to in BirkenmaierPatent 1,935,386 (Figs. 1 and 2).

An openable connector 4 also forms part of the arm I3 for a branch wireleader 6 which at a suitable point connects to wire I. The arm I3 beingof a suitable conducting copper alloy, a plain copper alloy connector issuitable for the copper leader 6 which would be used if the line 4 canbe used to Join these two elements i and 5 together. Such connectors areknown, but one point of novelty here is in the fact that by changing thesupport for the fuse holder from a support on the wire i (as in Patent2,103,056) to a support on an insulator 3 (as herein), there is not onlyavoided unsteadiness and a loading of the wire, but there is alsoavoided the necessity for difierent holder supports in the differentcases of diflerent line wires (copper or aluminum). This is because withall supports l3 made of copper alloy, copper orcopper-aluminumconnectors may be employed for connection through asuitable copper or copper-aluminum wire 8, to the copper or aluminumwire 5, as the case may be.

The purpose of a spring member such as M and associated parts hasalready been described in Birkenmaier Patent 1,935,386, dated November14, 1933. It is to withdraw and drop the lower end of the fuse 33, afterthe fuse blows at its upper reduced portion ti.

At the upper end of the contact 29 is a metallic extension '39 whichcarries a ball 5i adapted to snugly fit into the socket ill and havingformed adjacent its end on one side a flat fin 53. This fin 53 extendsaround the ball and down to the upper contact 29 and carries anextending portion 55.

The operation of the device is as follows:

After having placed a fuse in the fuse holder (including attachment at42) and thus having put the spring li into bowed tension ('Fig. 3), alineman fastens connector 35 to wire 86. Next he applies the lug 3? ofthe stick S to the eye 35, as shown in Fig. 4. By this means he can liftthe fuse support upward so as to move the ball 5i into the positionshown in Fig. 3. The extension its under these conditions moves inbetween the guiding fingers 19, the portion '55 functioning as a rudderto keep the ball 5! directed forwardly.

As the ball 5i gravitates toward the socket ll, it engages the lug 5'?on the lower end of the latch 2i and forces the latch aside against thebias of the spring 23. The parts then assume the position wherein theball 5i is seated in the socket i! and the latch 2i has sprung backunder bias of the spring 23 to trap the ball in its socket. The linemansstick S may be pulled down to firmly seat the ball 58' and may then beremoved from the eye 35. The fuse 33 is then in circuit. It hangssteadily but swingingly from the fixed arm l3, the wire 46 beingconnected as'required.

If the fuse blows, as under heavy overload, the engendered gases areprojected expulsively from the lower end of the tube 38, thus causing areaction along the center line of the fuse tube. Hence the fuse holder Fas a whole tends to move upward. The tendency of ball 5! to move outfrom the seat N is resisted by the then shut latch 2 i In order toremove the fuse holder, the linemans stick S is reapplied and the fuseholder pushed upwardly as indicated in Fig. 4. Inasmuch as the upwardmotion of the ball 58 is resisted'by the latch 25, there is a tendencyto rotate the fuse holder. The length of the wire 46 is such as topermit this rotation, or it may be removed.

The rotation causes the fin 53 to come into contact with the lower lug5! of the latch 26 to push it aside. This contact also causes afulcruming of the fuse holder to occur at the lug 51, whereupon the ballis automatically pushed out by the return biasing action of the latch.After complete removal of the fuse holder, the latch 2| is back inposition, ready for the application of another or the same re-iusedholder.

It will be clear that the reaction of the fuse blowing is not deliveredto the wire I, as is the case in Patent 2,103,056, nor is this wire I inany other way interfered with by loading it.

It will be quite clear that the detached lower portion of the fuse 33after being withdrawn from the tube 38 will cease to tension the arm BM.Thus, the clamp 52 will automatically open and drop the lower portion ofthe link 33. At the same time the spring 66 straightens out. In thisrespect the action is similar to that described in connection with Figs.1 and 2 of said Birkenmaier Patent 1,935,386. It is to be understood,however, that the use of the coil spring M, together with the shunt fit,has the advantage above stated, namely, that current needs not to passthrough the spring.

It should here be noted that the tube 38, or at least its interior, isformed of horn fibre which has a de-ionizing effect on an electric arewhich tends to extinguish it. Thus, any are due to melting of thefusible section d'i tends to be extinguished by the de-ionizing effectof the horn fibre tube 38. This tends to reduce the reaction on arm i3because the expulsive action from the lower ,end of the tube 38 is less.

Figs. 5-7 show an alternative form of the invention in which likenumerals designate like parts. Differences are as follows:

The arm i3 carries a non-removable connector 8 for wire 6 and theinsulator 62 does not carry line wire i which is not shown in Figs. 5-7.The clamp 9, H of Figs. 1-4 has substituted therefor the one-piecespring clamp it. The insulator l2 supports parts forming a lightningarrestcr to a ground wire it.

At numeral 6! is a supporting bracket for the vertically arrangedinsulator 92. As indicated, the bracket GE is formed as a split clamp 63held to the lower end of the insulator 3 by means of a bolt 65. At 51 isa holder which affords a support for the ground wire connector i i.Extending from the clamp 83 is a threaded socket 69 for receiving thethreaded end of a lower conducting gap arm ii. A lock nut :12 holds thegap arm in predetermined adjustment, after adjustment, bothlongitudinally and angularly. The arm H is bent to one side of itsnormal plane as shown in Fig. 6.

The upper clamp Ill supports in a similar way an arm ll offset an equalamount oppositely (see Fig. 5).

Each conducting gap arm H has an outwardly extending straight portion.Beyond the straight portions each arm is turned at a right angle asindicated at 73. The angled portions are directed toward one another.Then there are formed loop or turn portions 75 with outwardly extendinghorn portions 11. The portions ll relatively flare out toward the left.

At a mid-point on the insulator I2 is provided a third clamp 19 having aclamp bolt 8!. Clamps of this type are made very malleable so that theymay be opened and reclosed around the waist which they encircle.Two-piece clamps may also be used. In this case the threaded socketcarries a threaded stem 83 locked by means of another look nut 84. Thestem 83 carries at its outer end a loop or ring-like member 85, which isshown circular. The plane of the circle is midway between those of thegap arm 1 l.

The operationof the lightning arrester is like that specified in saidapplication, except that therein the offset between arms II and 83prevents short-circuits due to dripping rain or pendent icicles.

It will be noted that the offset or stagger of the conducting portions15 are opposite with respect to the intermediate conductor member '85.This permits of obtaining the same gap above and below the member 85without introducing shortcircuiting due to pendent icicles. Forinstance, if the upper member 15 were adjacent to the left in Fig. 6,instead of to the right, then for equal gaps the upper member 15 wouldbe directly over the lower member 15, thus reintroducing the difficultydue to short-circuiting from icicles and the like. Under such conditionsthe only way to avoid a coplanar relationship between the members 15would be to make the gaps unequal, which is not desired. Thus it will beseen that by having the respective members 15 staggered oppositely withrespect to the intermediate member 85, none of the three electrodes inthe surge arrester is in the plane of the other, and equal gaps may bemaintained respectively between the upper and lower conductors and theintermediate conductor.

It will be understood in connection with Figs. -7 that any overload orshort-circuit on the line (with which wire 6 is connected) will melt thefuse in the fuse holder 38, and that any, or at least most, transientvoltage surges such as lightning will be by-passed to ground over thegaps between parts H and 83 and ground wire I4.

- In Figs. 8-10 a construction without a lightning arrester is shown,wherein a flexible supporting cantilever arm is used. In this case aninner arm portion 9| is attached or anchored to the top of an insulator93. An outer arm portion 95 supports the fuse holder parts, as shown atset screws 20, like numerals designating like parts in respect to thefuse holder parts. This outer portison 95 also carries a lug 91 for awire connector 9 To resiliently connect parts SI and 95 they are tightlythreaded into a relatively stiff (but yieldable) spring 2M which, withparts 9| and 95 makes an arm still enough to support the fuse holderparts against the action of gravity. However, any heavy reaction forcesdue to blowing of the fuse in holder 38 are relieved by flexing of thespring 20! with a subsequent return to the normal position shown. Wires48 and 6 are connected with enough leeway to allow for this action.

The arms 8| and 95 and associated elements of this embodiment canlikewise with success be used in the embodiment of Figures 1, 2 and 3,in order to make the latter embodiment capable of interrupting heaviershort-circuit currents.

It will be seen that the construction of Figs. 8-10, like that of theother figures, provides an upper single laterally extended support whichis relatively stiff against gravity action, which support, by means ofthe carrier at its end, supports the depending rigid expulsive fuseholder F. As before, the fuse holder has a. quick detachable connectionwith the carrier, and the support is resilient enough to permit movementof the fuse holder and the carrier in responsive to expulsive reactionsfrom the fuse holder.

Advantages of the invention are:

(l) Avoidance of objections which are often made (validly or invalidly)to hanging items on line wires;

(2) Elimination of time and trouble required to manipulate line wiresupporting clamps, and providing for a quick-detachable connectionbetween the fuse holder and its supporting carrier;

(3) Elimination of the necessity for special aluminum fuse holder partswhere aluminum line wires are encountered; and

(4) Low cost and simplicity. I

Further references and claims directed to cantilever spring fuse partsmay be found in the United States patent application of Claude L.Matthews et al., Serial No. 298,448, filed October 7, 1939, forElectrical apparatus.

In view of the above, it will be seen that the several objects of theinvention are achieved and other advantageous results attained.

As many changes could be made in the above constructions withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention, it is intended that allmatter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanyingdrawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limitingsense.

I claim:

1. Line protection apparatus comprising a single laterallyextending'support which is relatively stiif against gravity action, acarrier thereon, an open expulsive fuse holder which is rigid per se andwhich is dependingly supported against gravity exclusively by saidsingle support, the opening of the fuse holder bell-'18 directed down sothat expulsive reactions are against gravity and applied to the support,quick-detachable means between the carrier and fuse holder, and asubstantially resilient section in said support permitting substantialresilient movement of the carrier under operative expulsive reactionsfrom the fuse holder.

2. Line protection apparatus comprising a cantilever member, a fuseholder supported thereby, said member having .a spring section therein.

3. A support for a fuse holder comprising a round anchored memberthreaded at one end, a second round member also threaded at one end,said threaded ends being threaded into a common coil spring which formsa connection therebetween and means on the second member for swingablyhanging a fuse holder therefrom.

, CLAUDE L. MATTHEWS.

